Turn on any news channel or
open any paper and you will find stories of war-torn Syria. For most of these
stories, the focus is on the political uproar and civil unrest among the
people. Most of these stories overlook the public health impact from the months
and months of fighting. In the future, research will unravel the long-term
health impacts from the war. However, the health of the Syrian people is at
risk as we speak.
Currently, over 1.5 million Syrians refugees are camped in the countries surrounding Syria including Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. Though these camps are a safe haven from the violence of Syria, the healthcare can be a threat to the safety of these people. The World Health Organization has created health targets for each of these countries serving Syrian refugees because of the high risk for communicable disease outbreak and lack of quality services. These countries have requested millions of dollars of aid from WHO. WHO has been able to provide a very large portion of the funding but there is still a gap between what was requested and what has been received. Without adequate funding, the natives of each country and Syrian refugees will not receive adequate care.
While many people have fled to “safer” areas, this displacement has caused overcrowding and unsanitary conditions. These conditions have caused endless problems in terms of disease transmission. Lack of access to clean water has resulted in a 172% increase in acute watery diarrhea between January and May of 2013. 35% of the public hospitals are closed and 70% of trained healthcare workers have fled the country. This has resulted in a significant drop in vaccination rates- from 95% in 2010 to 45% in 2013. As these people flee to neighboring countries, they bring with them measles, TB and many other diseases prevented through vaccination. Also, without healthcare workers, Syrians do not have access to medicines or care.
The World Health Organization has cited areas of focus including safe drinking water and sanitation, early warning systems for detection of disease, distribution of bed nets and mass vaccination campaigns. However, it becomes more and more difficult to reach this country and these people with the war raging on. The impact of war can be deadly for the health of the affected population. If disease takes over your body before any weapon can cause harm, then public health needs to become the priority rather than an after-thought.
Sources:
http://www.emro.who.int/press-releases/2013/disease-epidemics-syria.html
http://www.who.int/hac/emro_region_dashboard_6june2013_final_small.pdf
Jaci, I think that this post touches on many important points and topics. I really appreciated how you ended your post, by saying "If disease takes over your body before any weapon can cause harm, then public health needs to become the priority rather than an after-thought." I believe that many people do, indeed, view Public Health as a mere "after-thought", without realizing how many of our issues worldwide could be prevented, rather than treated, if we placed our focus, and put more funding towards public health, and prevention. As we have discussed and learned through class, we are very fortunate in America to have access to vaccinations, health care, education, clean water, etc. Due to the fact that we are so fortunate, I believe that in a sense, we are able to get a "head start" on this concept of public health, in comparison to other places worldwide. I hope that with the help of each of us we will be able to implement the concept of Public Health worldwide.
ReplyDeletez shSeptember 30, 2013 at 10:21 AM
ReplyDeleteYou provided significant discussion over the consequences of war in public health. There are more complications that you can imagine that is caused by war. Studies have shown war causes long-term physical and psychological effect especially on vulnerable groups. War destroys families and communities. The impact of war on disability, poverty, social and economic is very significant. According to WHO the armed conflicts on civilian cause depression, anxiety and psychosomatic problems such as insomnia, or back and stomach aches. The World Health Organization has focused on those conditions that are widely evident but what about mental health problems?
Mental health consequences of war: a brief review of research findings
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › ... › World Psychiatry › v.5(1); Feb 2006
Thats why I hate war. There is no "right" side in war. Each side has its own justifications, evidence and irrefutable proofs of "WMDs" etc..End of the day its the vulnerable, the children , the women, the poor, they suffer the most.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in Africa during war and apartheid, I developed a strong feeling against war. It deprives you of basic services such as education, clean water, health services, and veterinary services to name a few. You grow up in fear and the next meal is not guaranteed. You do not trust people outside your family becuase you never know who your enemy is. You are not able to have access to most basis health services due to daily conflict and fear of being caught in the cross fire. The impact of war on health outcomes among children (Pacione, Meashan, & Rouseau, 2013) general health outcomes (Kesternich, Siflinger, Smith, & Winter, 2012; Teerowichitchainan, & Korinek, 2012) ) have been documented.
ReplyDeleteReferences
Kesternich, I., Suflinger, B., Smith, J. P., & Winter, J. (2012). The effects of World War II on economic and health outcomes across Europe. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 7, 1-16.
Pacione, L. Measham, T., & Rousseau, C. (2013). Refuge children: Mental health and effective interventions. Current Psychiatry Rep, 15(1), 340-350.
doi:10.1007/s11920-012-0341-4
Teerowichitchainan, B., & Korinek, K. (2012). The long term impact of war on health and well being in Northern Vietnam:Some glimpses from recent survey. Social Science and Medicine, 74(12), 1995-2004.